Unlicensed spectrum and the devices that use it...

Unlicensed spectrum and the devices that use it generate $62 billion a year for the U.S. economy, CEA said in a report Monday (http://bit.ly/1sigLXQ). “Unlicensed spectrum is the fuel that powers innovation in our increasingly digitized, interconnected and untethered world,” CEA President Gary Shapiro said. The report estimated that the devices that rely most heavily on unlicensed spectrum will grow cumulatively by 30 percent per year through 2016. Consumer demand for products like these in turn is driving the need for even more unlicensed spectrum, CEA said. Ownership of “spectrum-enabled devices” such as smartphones and tablets “is at an all-time high,” it said. It estimated that two-thirds of U.S. homes own a smartphone while tablet penetration is 45 percent. Both categories increased their penetration rates by six percentage points in just the past year, it said. “We're seeing an explosion of connected devices that rely almost exclusively on unlicensed spectrum -- the Internet of Things -- proof of the skyrocketing value of unlicensed spectrum,” said Shapiro. “As we continue to use more smart, connected devices, we need enough unlicensed spectrum for them to communicate with their surroundings and one other. With this tool, innovators can harness the power of the network to give devices more utility than they could ever have in isolation.” Typifying its strong advocacy for more commercial spectrum, CEA last week came out in support of the Wireless Innovation Act introduced by Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. (CD June 16 p14).